The Duke of Shu Han began guarding Jingzhou in place of Guan Yu.

Chapter 202 Land Tenant Survey
So he was one of Xu Shu's men!
Last year, when Xu Shu entered Shu, Liu Bei secretly bestowed upon him the seal of Grand Commandant upon his departure.

Outsiders may not know about this, but how could Mi Wei, as the person in charge, not know?

It suddenly dawned on me.

No wonder Li Hong, a mere minor official, was so well-versed in the military and social affairs of Yingchuan.

Because behind him was Xu Shu, a Right General from Yingchuan.

He served as an official in Cao Wei for fifteen years and had extensive connections.

Of course I'm familiar with it!

Thinking about it this way, Sun Lang's forces grew larger and larger along the way, rising again after each defeat, perhaps with Xu Shu pulling the strings behind the scenes...

Li Hong was his "subordinate" who was sent south to assist Sun Lang.

Is this a case of being physically in Cao Cao's camp but mentally in Han's?

Miwei was full of curiosity.

However, in order to protect Comrade Xu Shenhai's privacy.

Only a few people, including Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang, Ma Liang, and Mi Wei, knew about the appointment of the Grand Commandant.

Even Guan Yu's side was not informed.

Therefore, Mi Wei had to suppress his curiosity and instead urgently discuss military strategies with his subordinates.

After a round of deductions and calculations, everyone unanimously agreed with Li Hong's plan to launch a surprise attack on Ye County to the north!

There's no way around it; this place is just too strategically important.

Since we need to race against time, we definitely won't have time to mobilize the troops from the rear.

Mi Wei left a thousand infantrymen to guard the camp.

He then gave Li Hong a nominal post as a military advisor, instructing him to continue contacting Sun Lang in the city and keeping a close eye on Xiahou Ru outside.

Then, after breakfast the next morning, he led the remaining infantry and eight hundred cavalrymen around Duyang County and headed straight for Ye County.

As Li Hong had predicted, the defenses had become lax along the way.

The few remaining post stations were easily wiped out by Wang Ping's four hundred cavalrymen who were leading the way.

That afternoon, Mi Wei had already arrived at the foot of an ancient Chu "Great Wall" in the southwest of Ye County.

As far as the eye can see, there are sections of walls built along the mountainside.

Although limited by the technological level of the time, it was not on the same level as the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty in later generations.

However, it is still a qualified defensive fortification.

The only problem is.

Since the Qin and Han dynasties unified China, Nanyang was located in an inner prefecture and had long since ceased to have any need for border defense.

Therefore, these walls lack sufficient maintenance and are mostly damaged.

Mi Wei immediately realized that these fortifications alone were insufficient to secure the Fangcheng Pass, which had a significant gap.

In order to form a complete defense system, it is also necessary to control nearby cities and rivers.

"No wonder the Green Forest Army went north to the Zhi River to defend cities like Kunyang!"

"This 'Fangcheng Fortress' is actually a fortress composed of mountains, rivers, and cities!"

After pausing briefly to reflect on the past, Wang Ping brought good news.

They have successfully captured Ye County.

Because of the suddenness of the attack, the defending troops did not even have time to close the city gates before the Han cavalry galloped into the city.

The county magistrate, the county clerk, and even a military officer who hadn't had time to leave all surrendered.

Miwei was overjoyed and immediately headed north.

Just as they arrived at the outskirts of the city, Wang Ping sent someone to report that the agricultural commander had requested the Han army's help to bury the bodies of the righteous soldiers who had died in battle earlier.

In the height of summer, a large number of corpses are scattered across the wilderness. If they are not buried in time, they may cause the next major epidemic.

As a person from later generations, Mi Wei naturally attached great importance to this.

He immediately ordered Xiang Chong to urge the soldiers to handle the matter.

Then he and Jiang Wei and other knights went north to take over the city.

Upon entering Ye City, the surrendered Wei officials all wore mournful faces.

Only the agricultural commander brought out his female family members to welcome the royal army with cattle and wine, saying that he wanted to reward the royal army.

The agricultural officer was well-dressed and had a full head of white hair, clearly a respected elder in the village.

Mi Wei praised the woman on the spot, but politely declined her offer and instead invited her alone to the county temple for a detailed discussion.

"General, you may not know this, but I was once spared by Liu Yuzhou and have been secretly plotting to repay him. I am now twenty-six or twenty-seven years old!"

"I thought I would never be able to repay your kindness in this lifetime, but I never expected to see you today, General. It's really, really..." As he spoke of the past, the Agricultural Commandant burst into tears.

Miwei offered another reassurance.

Then they started chatting casually:
"I have heard that as early as the beginning of the Jian'an period, the Cao family established many civilian settlements in Henan and recruited people to cultivate the land in order to fill the granaries."

"Speaking of which, His Majesty of our dynasty happened to take office as the Governor of Yuzhou in the early years of Jian'an."

"However, at that time His Majesty's residence was in Xiaopei, which was close to Xuzhou. He was in a place where he was surrounded by enemies, so he naturally had no time to participate in promoting civilian settlements."

"But I wonder what exactly you mean by the kindness you just mentioned?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Commandant of Agriculture's tearful eyes froze for a moment.

Although she immediately raised her sleeve to wipe her face, Miwei still noticed her.

With his sleeves down, the Agricultural Commandant had resumed his "overwhelmed with gratitude" demeanor.
"Hehe, although Liu Yuzhou did not participate in the civilian settlements in the past, if it weren't for Liu Yuzhou defending the border against the rebels, how could we have farmed in peace?"

"If the general suspects that I have ill intentions, please put me in the county jail. I will have no complaints!"

Mi Wei smiled faintly: "You don't need to worry. I was just asking casually."

They immediately changed the subject:

"Your Excellency holds the rank of seventh-grade Agricultural Commandant, so you must be familiar with the household registration system."

"Could you please explain it to me in more detail?"

The Agricultural Commandant subconsciously swallowed and said:

"I didn't expect the general to be interested in the Wei system?"

Mi Wei smiled and said:
"The stones from other mountains can be used to polish jade; there's no harm in listening."

The agricultural commander was completely baffled as to what Mi Wei was really up to.

But such things are not hard to find out, so there was no need to hide them, and they started talking about it on the spot.

Originally, the land tax in the Eastern Han Dynasty was relatively light, ranging from one-fifteenth to one-thirtieth of the original tax.

In addition to land rent, farmers also had to pay poll tax, such as head tax and tax on the number of people.

These taxes are often levied in monetary form.

By the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the ruling order was out of control, the coinage system collapsed, and the peasants were already overwhelmed, with many fleeing.

Therefore, Cao Cao ordered that the poll tax be changed to a household tax levied per household, and that goods be used instead of currency.

The regulations stipulate that each household shall pay two bolts of silk and two catties of cotton annually to replace the original poll tax and tax.

The land rent was also adjusted to four liters per mu.

This not only reduces the burden on farmers.

Moreover, compared to "Ding", "Hu" has relatively low mobility.

This is more conducive to ensuring the stability of conscription.

Mi Wei listened to the Agricultural Commandant's account and could easily discern the implicit approval in the other party's tone.

Yet he remained unmoved.

After the other party finished their introduction, they suddenly said:
I have a question.

"As we all know, the tax collection is based on the household, which means that the amount of tax collected is the same regardless of the number of people in the household."

“Local powerful families and wealthy clans have a long-standing tradition of concealing household registrations and seizing land. If this is changed, I’m afraid it will only get worse.”

Agricultural Commandant: "Indeed, this is a concern! That's why the late Emperor... uh, Cao Cao also issued orders many times in the past to severely punish the annexation of land."

Mi Wei: "What have been the results?"

Agricultural Commandant: "...It's still better than during the reigns of Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling."

Mi Wei nodded and said, "But these land rent adjustments only apply to registered residents who own land, right?"

Agricultural Commandant: "Of course. Those who cultivate the land in the civilian settlements are all landless vagrants, so they are calculated separately."

Mi Wei: "But I wonder how many people with land remain in the various prefectures of Yuzhou? How many of them are powerful and wealthy, and how many are from the lower classes?"

The agricultural commander was taken aback upon hearing this.

I don't know if I was stumped by this overly detailed question, or if I had thought of something else.

But at that moment, Zhan Sifu, the head of the scouts, suddenly came in to report.

He immediately glared angrily at the agricultural officer:

"General, this man appears loyal but is actually treacherous!"

"He deliberately stayed in the city, burying corpses and donating money to the army, actually to buy time for the Wei army to retreat into Kunyang!"

(End of this chapter)